I had the pleasure of spending a morning with Rudy and Theuns Erasmus and Johan De Vries, showing them some of what was to be had locally. As per usual it was an early morning start to get in a few hours before the mercury levels got too high. Luckily the friendly Lilith Owl obliged and posed nicely on a lookout rock for its portrait to be taken. Rudy who had seen this species in Abu Dhabi previously commented on how much paler in colour this bird was.There were many Harriers quartering over the fields, their numbers having increased all of a sudden. Another good sighting was a single Ferruginous Duck on one of the irrigation storage dams. I have seen several of these here over the last weeks and I suspect they are dispersing from Abu Nakhla ponds, where water levels are very low at present. I don't usually go to the farm on a Friday and I was quite pleasantly surprised at how many other photographers we came across, all out there trying for award winning images. Rudy managed to capture pics of the European Hoopoe so as to be able to compare it with its African cousin when he gets back home. Whilst we were stopped to stretch our legs and have a snack a very tame Arabian Shrike flew in and landed on the top of the open door of our vehicle. It sat there for a minute or two before heading off again on search of its own grub. We paid a visit to the ponds on the way back to town. There were large numbers of Grey Herons, Ducks, Great Crested Grebes, Western Reef Herons, Greater Flamingos, Glossy Ibis and the like. The highlight for me were three Avocet that were also present.

Arabian Grey Shrike

Abu Nakhla Ponds showing the much lower water level. The islands that are appearing as a result have created safe resting zones for the bird life